Trees were toppled, but Currituck dodged big storm damage

Tropical storm Hermine scooted over Currituck County Saturday, knocking down trees and blowing off shingles and siding, but overall, the storm damage was not extensive.

“Currituck County was really fortunate,” said Mary Beth Newns, director of Currituck County Emergency Management Services.

A lot of large trees came down but structural damage was not widespread, she said.

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Only three houses had structural damage; everything else was siding and shingles, she said. Most of the damage was limited to the southern part of the county.

“Probably the worst area was on Waterlily Road, which had a lot of very big trees come down,” she said, adding that some large trees were also knocked down on Aydlett Road.

The biggest casualty was the 1890 Griggs/Snowden House in Maple. A tree fell on the house, which was under renovation, and damage was estimated to be at least $150,000. One other home was also heavily damaged north of Grandy.

Several trees were blown down, or fell over due to the soggy ground, blocking parts of Short Cut Road and U.S. 158, slowing Saturday morning traffic heading to the beach.

However, crews quickly cleared most of the trees from the roadway. “Our fire department and all our first responders really hustled that whole morning getting everything cleared out,” Newns said.

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On the northern beaches, it was business as usual following a storm — a few roads were blocked off because of high water, and heavy surf made navigating the beach up through the four-wheel-drive area tricky.

In Corolla, high winds blew in the glass doors of one home, but the rest of the damage in the area involved siding and shingles, Newns said.

“We were at the beach yesterday (Tuesday) and our beach didn’t do too bad,” she added. Newns traveled as far as Corolla with Rebecca Gay, Currituck’s deputy emergency management coordinator. Visitors to Corolla were out and about, enjoying the beach after Hermine blew through, Newns said.

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Randall Edwards, Currituck’s public information officer, said in a press release that the county had been informed that NCDOT will not be picking up vegetative debris caused by tropical storm Hermine due to the absence of FEMA funding. The Currituck Board of Commissioners has appealed directly to Gov. McCrory’s office for assistance and is awaiting a reply.

Citizens in Currituck County are encouraged to take downed branches and other storm related debris to the county’s transfer station, located next to Currituck Regional Airport, or to their local recycling center.

All recycling centers are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday. The transfer station is open from 8 a.m. until 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday.

An African serval cat had been missing from a Martins Point home for nearly a month. Wende Pritchard of Kitty Hawk broadcast live video of the cat, named Rocky, roaming her backyard and he was eventually caught Tuesday.

The latest video from Dare County’s MoreBeachToLove.com has updates on the progress of the beach nourishment project at Buxton, and Nags Head’s planned renourishment work that could take place this summer.